Televisa Cuts Ties With Director After Karla Souza’s Rape Claim
On Monday, actress Karla Souza said in an interview with CNN that she was raped on a film set by a director but never named her alleged assailant
Photo: Instagram/karlasouza
On Monday, actress Karla Souza said in an interview with CNN that she was raped on a film set by a director but never named her alleged assailant. Just days later, Televisa — one of Mexico’s largest networks — says they will no longer work with director Gustavo Loza, Souza’s accused rapist.
Souza — who can currently be seen on ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder” — told journalist Carmen Aristegui on CNN en Español about her experience on the set with a director who used his power against her. She said she “ended up allowing to him to kiss me, to touch me in ways I did not want him to touch me and in one of the instances he violently assaulted me and yes, he raped me.”
She added that her accused assailant was very charming and good at his job, but that he manipulated her for his own benefit. She also said during the televised interview that during filming, she was placed in the same hotel as him while the cast and crew stayed in a different hotel. She believed that they were actually doing that to be nice to her. But in one instance he allegedly came to her hotel door at 2 a.m. and wouldn’t leave. She felt that she couldn’t reject him as he made advances toward her. Soon after their alleged sexual interaction, he began humiliating her on the set.
Televisa released the following statement: “Following the public accusations about sexual abuse from actress Karla Souza, and after a preliminary investigation, Televisa has decided to immediately sever its (working) relationship with Mr. Gustavo Loza,” the statement read.
The director responded on Twitter by saying that he denies all accusations. “I deny any accusation against me by Televisa, who has accused me without foundation regarding the case of the alleged rape reported by @KarlaSouza7, I deeply regret and openly condemn,” he said.
In January, Souza said she supported the Times Up movement.
